Harts Pass no. 540

The wolverines are watching here, but my own daughter just graduated from high school! We feel INCREDIBLY fortunate that we were able to host an outdoor graduation and that on some relative scale as compared to last year and the most recent school year -- graduation was about as normal as can be. Congrats, kiddo, to you and all of your fellow graduates in the class of 2021. GRRR!!!

Hart Pass no. 539

One of those fun little attempts to find a connection between animals in the world and the wolverines right here in our little slice of the North Cascades. 

 

Harts Pass no. 538

 

We have reached to stage of this pandemic, where the masks can come off a bit. Vaccines are here and the spread (for now) feels calmed. That being said, I'd really like to NOT be wearing masks again for poor air quality and smoke. Be smart out there people!

PS Sorry, I missed last week with the comic-making. It happens :)

Harts Pass no. 536

Almost Mother's Day. Have a good one :) 

 

Harts Pass no. 535

Since 2006 I have walked the woods above our house. It is the edge of wilderness - coyotes, black bears, maybe a cougar or two watching me as I walk. Today there are flags. Change. Someone is marking things -- reclaiming their space. What is happening? All I know is with the intrusion of "civilization" I have never felt more uncomfortable in these woods. 

Harts Pass no. 534

 

Some of my favorite strips are the ones that make sense both philosophically... and in relation to current happenings and/or a liberal use of Harts Pass critters as anthropomorphic stand-ins :) And here we have a very nice match-up (if I do say so myself) of both some good advice, the current track season, AND of course the hawk (or eagle) and the hare -- just a little quick and obvious for his own good. More updates on the way!

Harts Pass no. 533

Kind of fun when a current news brief fits nicely with the comic. Sometimes I seek out news on wolverines or specific stories about the North Cascades. This week, a blurb about grizzly research just came across my "feed." Interesting to a degree, but based on following deer paths through the woods etc. I am usually surprised at how "logical" they seem. When looking up the hill myself and trying to plot the most efficient, least steep way to ascend, it commonly fits with some sort of animal trail. Nobody wants to work TOO hard if there isn't some more compelling reason to make the path more direct. 

 

Harts Pass no. 532

Ah, the spring break. And so it always goes. Something of a break. Something of a chore. I know that some people really embrace this annual ritual with an escape to some sort of warmer clime. That has not been my practice, nor, I think, would it be my preference. A little yard work. A little wandering the hills. Call me "vacationed." Let's get on with it. 

 

Harts Pass no. 531

THIS comic is a total inside joke based on some discussions amongst the XC team. And so I ask you, which is more pleasant, a worm or a snake? Somehow the "worm moon" coincides with this ongoing debate. Snakes are clearly the best!

 

Harts Pass no. 530

Birds chirping insanely in the morning. Blustery, windy days that look warm but are actually frigid... spring is delightfully cruel. 

 

Harts Pass no. 529

I DO really like this one. Just a simple visual with a kind of nice surprise at the end -- AND it makes perfect sense with the 3.17 publication date for the comic :)

 

Harts Pass no. 528

Phew! At this point in the ever-evolving pandemic, I feel like we might be removing masks and getting a little too comfortable with the idea that a vaccine with fix everything. I mean, for starters, we have to convince a bunch of people to actually go and GET the vaccine... 

 

Harts Pass no. 527

If you don't already know Yayoi Kusama's artwork, you should check it out! Amazing patterns. Awesome, saturated color. Every inch is covered in dancing lines and texture. We've been exploring and replicating her work with my JRH art classes. Art imitates life and visa versa.

 

Harts Pass no. 526

Maybe not one of my best efforts here. Sometimes, when you are doing something like this mostly for fun and weekly practice, you end up phoning it in... I WAS thinking about Covid, and art, and being cooped up and looking for something new, but at the same time I was pretty much trying to hit a deadline :) GRRR!

 

Harts Pass no. 525

My wedding anniversary coincides with this comic... and Thor and Melanie here are based loosely on my own relationships and happenings. No one I would rather take a walk with, Melanie :)

Harts Pass no. 524

I like this one. Sorry to brag. It's a simple conceit, and it was fun to draw -- to try and pull off the consideration and change of expression in a fairly limited range of movement. Not a huge audience for this strip by any stretch of the imagination, but I've definitely practiced a LOT of comic-making with these characters in the last 10+ years and 524 strips. I should be decent at it :)

Harts Pass no. 523

No masks in this one. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow. Don't overthink it. Don't "understand." Just cruise and enjoy that rare moment of effortless motion. And smile too :) Such feelings will happen again for sure, but they are hard to plan for and never predictable. 

 

Harts Pass no. 522

And today's strip continues -- like ALL things in the world right now -- in the Covid vein. Like many times in history, it does go to form that even a simple comic strip in a random small-town newspaper can take up the call to public service and hopefully help to spread information in an approachable way. GRRR!

Harts Pass no. 521

I usually find a Dr. King quote to honor this week and to pay respect to his work for civil rights and social justice. This year, I came across a statement from Senator Robert F. Kennedy given on the eve of Dr. King's assassination. It seems appropriate to our own current moment in history and carries in fact a similar sentiment to President Biden's words from Wednesday afternoon. 

 

Build Back Better Bears no. 9 - 1.20.21

Amanda Gorman's poem was AMAZING... inauguration bears!

Harts Pass no. 520

There ARE indeed too many people skiing in the dark while listening to music. They are also, by all appearances, too far from the trailheads with too far to go and with no additional light to guide their way. I'm all for adventure and that thrilling experience in the "out of doors" but please, please, please DO remember that we take certain risks here on the urban-rural fringe. Best not to look TOO much like a clueless chew toy for the wild kitties!

Harts Pass no. 519

I wrote this strip on Tuesday morning, January 5th... with a "no news is good news" sort of hope for the first full week of 2021. With the comic hitting print on Wednesday, I really wish that I'd been right. I mean I was, "nothing" happening on 1/6/21 would have been MUCH preferred to a riotous storming of Capitol Hill, but I was wrong in that way too much happened and we are really just beginning to hear the full extent. Truly hoping for a quieter week ahead. Best regards.

Build Back Better Bears no. 8 - 1.15.21

United bears. Together bears. Black bears. White bears. Social justice bears. We got your back bears!

 

Build Back Better Bears no. 7 - 1.5.21

 

Roll up the sleeves and get to work bears!

Harts Pass no. 518

 

A rare instance this week where the newspaper editor gave me a little prompt for what was going on in the paper. Basically it was a summary of the year, which when you get right down to it was pretty much dominated by Covid. I chose to skip over that in this little contribution, but as per usual it is implied. Looking forward to less pandemic inspiration in 2021, but true to the life a wolverine, we're not out of the woods yet. GRRR!